Pilot Launches $250,000 Small Business Growth Fund
SAN FRANCISCO, California — February 24, 2026 — Leads & Copy — Pilot, a company specializing in AI-powered accounting and advisory solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and startups, has launched its Small Business Growth Fund, providing $250,000 in funding to 18 small business owners.
The fund, presented in partnership with Hello Alice, will support small businesses in various growth stages, whether they are investing in operations, expanding teams, or strengthening financial infrastructures.
According to the National Federation of Independent Business, small businesses drive nearly half of U.S. employment but face challenges as banks tighten credit standards and raise interest rates. Research from Hello Alice also indicates that many founders cannot access the capital they need, even when their businesses are profitable, leading to a structural gap between business performance and access to financing.
Through the Pilot Small Business Growth Fund, 18 business owners will receive grants to support their scaling efforts. The fund includes one $50,000 grant, two $25,000 grants, and 15 $10,000 grants. Each grant recipient will also receive one year of free Pilot bookkeeping services to aid in their financial management and growth.
Jessica McKellar, founder and CEO of Pilot, stated that small businesses fuel innovation and strengthen communities but face unnecessary barriers. She emphasized that economic uncertainty affects small businesses the most, making it crucial to support them. McKellar added that the partnership with Hello Alice provides financial assistance and support to businesses ready for growth, while also managing their accounting needs.
Recipients of the Small Business Growth Fund will have 12-month access to Pilot’s automated bookkeeping services, including its AI Accountant. The AI Accountant is described as the world’s first fully autonomous system that handles the entire bookkeeping process, from onboarding to final financial statements, without human intervention. It unifies data, process, and execution to close books in hours, allowing business owners and local accountants to focus on growth.
Carolyn Rodz, Founder & CEO of Hello Alice, noted the disconnect between small business performance and how they are evaluated for growth capital. She explained that many founders run healthy, revenue-generating businesses, but financing decisions rely on static snapshots, legacy credit signals, or operating histories that do not reflect real operating health. Rodz believes the partnership with Pilot will give growth fund recipients greater financial visibility into cash flow, margins, and business fundamentals, helping to unlock more equitable access to growth capital.
Applications for the Pilot Small Business Growth Fund are open from February 24, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. ET to March 31, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. ET. Recipients will be announced on May 5, 2026.
For more information on eligibility and to apply, visit: https://pilot.com/growth-fund
About Hello Alice:
Hello Alice is an AI-powered platform for small business growth, serving over 1.6 million entrepreneurs nationwide. It delivers personalized guidance, capital access, and curated opportunities using the Business Health Score diagnostic. Founded in 2017 by Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore, Hello Alice aims to build the future of small business advisory.
About Pilot:
Pilot provides small businesses and startups with financial operations solutions through AI automation and human oversight. Its platform uses a dataset of millions of human-verified transactions to enable automation, benchmarking, and insights, all reviewed by accounting and finance experts. Pilot is backed by Sequoia, Index Ventures, Stripe, and Jeff Bezos.
Source: Pilot
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